After the invention of the toilet, there have been a variety of methods that have been devised to cleanse the person who used the toilet. These methods have been from the use of leaves and newspaper to cloth materials. However, the advent of toilet paper on a roll has become the standard in Western culture for people to cleanse him-/herself.
Anyone who has traveled, and not even extensively, knows that toilet paper comes in a variety of textures. It may range from the alleged softest “Charmin” to some that appear (and feel) as course as burlap. Further, virtually all toilet paper that is used is dry. By this, it is meant that the toilet paper is typically dry paper on a roll that is metered out by the user as needed to cleanse him-/herself.
Whatever the texture of the toilet paper, in its primary use, it will come in contact with sensitive body tissue. In some cases, however, this sensitive body tissue may be in an irritated condition even before the toilet paper comes in contact with it. When the tissue is in such a condition, it does not matter how soft the toilet paper may be it will further irritate the area and the person will experience greater discomfort in using the toilet paper but there is no alternative to cleanse them.
If someone has traveled to France and stayed in a hotel or home, they would be aware that the French have sought to solve at least the irritation problem by the elimination of the use of toilet paper altogether. The French use a “Bidet” that operates by spraying water at the tissue area to be cleansed that may later be dried, for example, with a towel. This method does not require the repetitive rubbing of dry toilet paper over the soiled area in order to cleanse the tissue.
Although the “Bidet” has many advantages with regard to the comfort it provides the user, its use has not caught on significantly in most locales in the world. It is observed that in those locales where there are Western-style toilet facilities, the method of choice in both commercial and residential settings is for people to cleanse themselves with dry toilet paper.
Another problem, particularly for commercial properties, is the loss of money because of waste associated with toilet paper. This waste may be because of the (i) excessive use of paper, (ii) intentional, unnecessary removal of excessive amounts of paper from the roll, or (iii) unintentional removal of excessive amounts of paper from the roll caused by roll runaway. These are controllable but the solutions are not particularly desirable for the normal user.
Two solutions to help solve the waste problem are to limit the amount that the toilet paper roll may turn and the second is to use small, individual paper sheet instead of a roll. According to the first solution, the dispenser will permit the roll to turn a set number of revolutions then it will stop. This will provide the user a set number of toilet paper sections before they must be separated from the roll. In order for the user to accumulate an adequate amount of toilet paper to cleanse him-/herself, it may be necessary to remove several pulls worth of toilet paper. The second solution includes a dispenser that is filled with interfolded, individual toilet paper sheets. The sheets are fitted together such that as one sheet is removed, a portion of the next sheet will extend from the dispenser. In order for a user to obtain an adequate number of sheets, he/she must pull a desired number of sheets from the dispenser.
The two solutions are more appropriate for locations such as schools and public facilities where the change of abuse is high. However, they are not as desirable for residential or commercial buildings where the risk of such abuse is low, and it is particularly frustrating the user.
The third cause of waste indicated above, the unintentional removal of excessive amounts of paper from the roll caused by roll runaway, is very controllable and there are methods currently available that attempt to solve the problem. These methods do not attempt to limit the amount of toilet paper that a user may obtain, but focus on the express issue of runaway. One method to solve this problem is to use of an unbalanced toilet paper roller that fits in a standard toilet paper dispenser. Runaway is reduced when the toilet paper roll is spun rapidly and the unbalanced nature of the roll will cause it to stop spinning much more rapidly than if a balanced roller was used.
A second method to prevent unintentional runaway is to provide a curved, hinged metal plate that extends from the back of the dispenser structure and rests on top of he toilet paper roll. Hotels frequently use this type of dispenser. The structure relies on the weight of the curved metal plate to prevent runaway. Therefore, the heavier the plate, the greater the stopping power it will provide. However, the greater the weight, the greater the chance the toilet paper will separate from the roll at an undesired location. Accordingly, there must be a compromise between the weight of the plate and the desired stopping power of plate to prevent runaway.
The two methods just described provide some degree of runaway prevention, but considerable runaway can still take place. There is the desire to provide greater degrees of runaway prevention yet still permit the toilet paper roll to turn as freely as possible.
The present invention solves the problems of the past and provides a toilet paper dispenser that prevents toilet paper runaway and discomfort that may exist from the use of dry toilet paper.